Set in stone
by ambiencealikw
Summary: He knows how his story ends, and yet Itachi can't help but wonder what goes through his leader's mind. Will he be missed? Will his life here have made a difference? Implied Itachi/Pein. One-shot.


They stood side by side, looking down at the Village Hidden in the Rain. Visibility was low with the heavy rain pelting down on the metallic buildings obscuring their vision. He supressed a shudder and felt glad for the shelter provided by an overhanging beam. Even after all these years the endless rain still dampened his mood significantly. Konoha was never like this; oppressive, gloomy and just so wet.

His companion had caught his reaction, naturally. Nothing got by Pein.

'It doesn't have to be like this,' Itachi said. They had been through this particular argument many times, of course. He wanted to end this farce of peace that none of them but Pein believed in. Somehow, this prodigy could not see that he was being used. Or if he did, he just didn't care. Despite this, he couldn't help but to keep trying, hoping that eventually he would see reason. Desperation made his voice harsher than usual. He was conscious that this was almost definitely his last chance to get through to Pein.

'This is the only way,' Pein said dismissively, as he always did. Itachi grit his teeth in frustration. He was sick of this mission. He would never be welcomed back to Konoha with open arms, of course, but these people were starting to get to him. The Fourth Shinobi War was right around the corner and here he was, part of the organisation that has orchestrated it. This is not what he had ever wanted. The horrors of the third war haunted him still.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he could say that would change Pein's mind, something that would end this entire charade. Tension hummed between them as the answer danced just out of reach. He questioned, as he always did, why he was even still here. What was the point now? He knew all their weaknesses, should have passed all this information on to Konoha years ago. Yet something held him back, some feeling that his job wasn't finished here.

'What would you do if I was gone?' Itachi asked before he could think of a reason not to. There was no expression on Pein's face as he turned to regard him. Itachi held his gaze, knowing that he was looking through this vessel to the real person, the real Pein, Nagato.

'You're replaceable,' was the quick response. 'Akatsuki would survive without you.'

'That may be, but it wasn't what I asked,' Itachi said.

Pein didn't reply, but then Itachi hadn't really expected an answer. He understood that his question had confused Nagato, that it would take him some time to mull it over in his mind. He would answer the question if and only he ever figured it out.

'I'll be gone for a few days,' Itachi said after a time. An obvious lie.

'Sasuke?' Pein guessed. Itachi offered a wry upturn of his lips in response. He was nothing if not predictable.

'He killed Orochimaru. I know he'll want to test his strength against mine,' Itachi said.

There was a long pause. It seemed that their interaction was now over. He felt dissatisfied. Was this really how they would end things? Itachi shed his Akatsuki cloak, folded it and put it on the ground beside him. Clad now in non-descript ninja gear he approached the edge of the balcony and looked down at the ground. Finality hung in the air.

'Will you let him kill you?' Pein asked suddenly. Itachi looked at him over his shoulder, holding his uncanny purple Rinnegan with his own blood-red Sharingan.

'What do I have left to live for?' Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed that Pein had no answer to this. The ex-Akatsuki nin raised a hand in farewell and was gone in an instant.

Within a few minutes he'd reached the edge of the village. He found Konan waiting for him at the border of the rain. She stood just inside this unnatural boundary, watching him dispassionately as he walked towards her.

'Konan,' he said, nodding at her respectively. She tilted her head to one side, considering him as if he was a puzzle that she couldn't solve.

'You're leaving,' she noted, a statement, not a question. He nodded, lost for words all of a sudden. They stood there at an impasse, trying to read each other.

'You'll be missed,' she said finally. 'You're the only one he ever really paid attention to.' Itachi shrugged. It didn't matter anymore, their decisions had been made. With just a few more steps, the lines would be drawn and they wouldn't be standing on the same side, not anymore.

'Look after him, Konan,' he said, letting his mask drop as he showed her his true self. Her eyes, intent on his face, read his intentions.

'Farewell, Itachi. I hope you survive.' She was gone within a matter of moments, no doubt to seek out Nagato. They both knew the ending to this story. It was set in stone.

He sighed, and crossed the threshold of the rain, walking into a future that contained death at his own brother's hands. It was probably better this way. There was no room on this path of destruction for another. Only thinking of Sasuke had kept him alive and relatively sane and only Sasuke could finish this. In the end, Itachi had lived his life for his little brother, and Nagato held no place here.

He couldn't.


End file.
